A graduate of The University of Iowa, Mr. Werden was the euphonium soloist with The United States Coast Guard Band for 26 years. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, England, Japan, and the former Soviet Union. Mr. Werden has performed under the baton of Zubin Mehta, Osmo Vänskä, Frederic, Fennell, H. Robert Reynolds, Leonard Falcone, Laurence Rosenthal and many others. He performed on soundtracks for NBC Television and Hollywood movies, and in live concerts with the NY Philharmonic and the Minnesota Orchestra.

Through FM and TV broadcasts, his solos have been heard in dozens of countries around the world. He is a recitalist and clinician, and has performed at local, national, and international symposiums. He was a member of The USCG Band Euphonium/Tuba Quartet, the Atlantic Tuba Quartet, the Saints Brass Quintet, and the Classic Brass Band. He has taught at the University of Connecticut and the University of Minnesota, and he is listed in Marquis' Who's Who in American Education.

His efforts to expand the role and recognition of the euphonium led the British magazine Sounding Brass in conjunction with the American publication Euphonia to name him the international "Euphonium Player of the Year" in 1980. He is the first American awarded this honor. In 1981, he was elected to the post of Euphonium Coordinator for the International Tuba-Euphonium Association (formerly called Tubists Universal Brotherhood Association: T.U.B.A). In 1987 he was appointed to the Honory Board of Advisors of ITEA. His many solo performances and his efforts to expand the role of the euphonium in music earned him the prestigious Coast Guard Commendation Medal. He has also been awarded two Coast Guard Achievement Medals, the Coast Guard Special Operations ribbon, two Coast Guard Unit Commendations, and three Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendations. In 1993 he was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda honors society. And in June of 2012 he was awarded the highest honor of the International Tuba-Euphonium Association, the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dave Werden playing EE-flat TubaHe has published articles in BAND Magazine, Euphonia magazine, The Instrumentalist magazine and the T.U.B.A. Journal. He is the author of The Blaikley Compensating System, Scoring for Euphonium ,Advanced Fingering Guide, co-author with Denis Winter of the Euphonium Music Guide, co-author with Barbara Payne and Brian Bowman of Euphonium Excerpts from the Standard Band and Orchestral Library, and a co-author of the Brass Player's Cookbook. He compiled and edited a series of papers by Arthur Lehman into the book The Brass Musician. He has also published over fifty arrangements for a variety of solo instruments and ensembles, and published a popular and authoritative article on the world wide web explaining the difference between baritone and euphonium.

David Werden is currently living in Minnesota, working as a computer consultant and teaching tuba and euphonium. Since moving to Minnesota he has performed with Symphonia (America's Premier Large Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble), the Minnesota Orchestra, the Sheldon Theater Brass Band, was a special guest artist at the International Euphonium Institute, performed for the International Trumpet Guild, and has been heard on live national broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion.

In 2012 David Werden began working with Adams Custom Brass as an Adams Euphonium Artist to help them enhance their already best-in-class professional euphonium.